Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

cCLINTOCK. OVER THERE" The Thrill and the Hell of the Trenches, Described by an American Boy. Sergeant Alexander McClint.ock of Lex* lngton, Ky., and the Canadian Army Has Gripping Tale That E\ery American Will Read, F>t He Tells the Facti?Unadorn? ed. Wounded, a Distinguished Conduct Medal !?an, He Was Inval.dcd Home, but Is Going "Out There" Aguin to Fight For Un< le Sam and His Alii is. An In? spiring, Interesting, Personal Narrative, Full of the Spirit and Atmosphere oi the Trenchet. No. 6. Decorated For Bravery; Home and lade Sam By Sergeaat Alexander McCliatocIt, a C M., 8/ta Overseas Ball., Canadian ?ren. Guards. Copyright. 1917. by the Bell Syn? dicate, Inc. ?* T\i? is fAe concluding article of the erWes of Mix by Sergfant \l < hnt<uh\ mm American boy of Lexington. A'//.. who'has teen strvice in France, eras eVreeof'o' for brainy and IftgglMM horn -. Jlr has b, f >i prom is, d a <>,<n misnion ill our army. The first five in stall ncnts told of the fighting in Tt, I gium and on the Somme, where he was desperately wounded. This final in? stall >n, nI describes his journey to the ^TStith twenty-two pieces of shrapnel orte leg and his meeting with tin in a London, hospital. IWAS taken from Pozlerea to Albert In a Font ambulnnce or, as the T uur.ulrn would sny, a "tin Lizzie." Th?# mar. who drove this vehicle would make a good ehuiiftVur for tin ridding utaefciti*. Apparently he wua counting 'tve buiupe In the road, for he didn't tolas one of them. However, the trip waa onlj a matter of seven tulle*, nud t wan In fair condition when they lifted ate out snd carried me to an eperatini table In 'he Held dressing station. A char lain came along and murmur ea a little prayer in ray ear. 1 imagine that wot Id have made a man feel very aolemn if bo had thought there was a chance he was about to jmss out. hut Z knew 1 merely had a leg pretty badly smashed up, ami while the chaplain waa praying 1 was wondering If tl oy would have to cut it off. I figured, if ESS' H* ii s^ukl handicap in Dg. The flr^t formality in a shrapnel case 's the administration of an anti-tetanus flgnocula; ion. and when it is done you reallxe that they are sure trying to! save your life. The doctor use* a horse syrlnre. ami the lujeetion leaves a lump on your chest as big as a base? ball, r.hieh stays with you for forty eight hours. After the injection a nurse fills out a diagnosis blank with a description of your wounds and a record of your name, age, regiment, regimental number, religion, parentage ami previous history as fur as she can discover It without aektng questions which would be positively indelicate. After all of that my wounds were giv? en their first real dressing. Immediately after this was dona 1 was Sundled into n not her ambulance and Orlven to Omtuy, where the C. G g. (east. StlttOgd and^ruil !,e nl weM 1 Btei In UM amhulain e with me wi re three oilier soldiers, an artlll ry officer ami two privates of in fantry. U e were ?11 ticketed off as shrapnel cases and probable recoveries, which latter detail is remarkable, since the most slightly Injured of the four had twelve wounds, snd there were sixty odd shell fragments or shrapnel balls collectively Imbedded in us. The nurse had told' me that I had about twenty wounds. Afterward her count proved eonservathe. More ucirate and later return d twenty-two bullets snd shell fragments were In my leg. They took the e out and pre them to me. I havu been giv awny for souvenirs. Ws were fairly IQMfUftlbgl In the ambnla.ee, and I ospcel.illy had great ret.ef from the fget that the nurse hud strapped my leg in a sling attached to the toy of the vehicle. We smoked cigarettes ami ttatted cheerfully, ex chan^i. : eom r it datlons on having got "cpfan ones" that Is. wounds not probablv fatal. The artillery (?lii er told fee he hi I 1 . . :, ort in:; i?ur battalion that BMWiling \snli one of the "asrrltl e batteries." A sacrifice battery, T gstghfl e plain. Is one on'"-cd of poh| piei es v hh h are emplaced lad ween tlio frort and support Ilm-? and which In eas of an attsek or counterstta? k are IIred at point blank ran re. They call them sacrifice batteries because s>mo of them are wlj>ed out every day. This offh-er Mild our battgMog that morning had been supported by an entire divl ?den of artillery and that 08 our front of 4M? yards the eighteen pounders alone, in a curtain fire which lasted thirty two minutes, had discharged lf?.<JLM v.di of high explosive shall*. I wm impn ..o| l.v h* statement, of course, hut 1 lotd hiui tint, while this wee an ?egoxilahing lot of ammunition, It wn r ?' i more surprising to have nothed at close range, as I did. the nnmf>er of Cem.-ins they missed. To wanl Hie end of o ir trip to fontay we were mu h 01haunted uud putty badly ?diakon \ip. We wore beginn! ig also to realize wo wore by no moans out of tho woods su'vieally. f?ur wounds bad merely been dressed. Each of US faced an extensive and iff mm operation. W I > rrlved at Contay silent and pret t y baiily doiirossed. For twenty-four bOQn in tho Contay casualty elearint* lUOon thoy did little except feed us ind take our temperatures hourly. Then we were put into a hospital train . for Itouen. Germans Bomb Hospital Train. ltlcht hero I would like to tell a lit tlo story about a hospital train leaving Contay for Kotten?not the one we were on, but one which had loft a few lay* before. The train, when it was )tist ready to depart witu^i full quota of WOfjgfltd BOB, was attacked by Herman 00r< [fltntl from which bombs were dropped upon it. There ? noth? ing apparently that makes the Ger fwo of the Nursing 8iKers Were the Cooleet Individuals Present. nans m? fearless and ferocious as the lt< d < r?>!ss emblem. On the top of each d the ?ars in this train there was a Bad GBOSi big enough to be seen from miles in the air. Tho (ierman aviators BCOtptOd them merely as excellent tar? gets. Their bombs quickly knocked three or four cars from the rails and 1 several or the helplessly wound l men. The rest of the patients, weak and nervous from reecut shock and in iury, some of them half delirious and nearly ull of them absolutely helpless and in pain, were thrown into near liable. Tco of the nursing sisters in charge of the train were the coolest individ? uals present. They walked calmly up and dowu Its length, urging the pa? tients to remain quiet, dlftctlttg the male attendants how to remove the wounded men gaiety from the wrecked ears and paying m> attention whatever to the bombs which were still explod MBf the train. I did not have the privilege of witnessing this scene my? self, but 1 know that I have accurate? ly described it, for ti e details wore told In an ofUclal report when the king decorated the two ilstoti with the Boy al Rod t'ross for \alo? in the face of the enemy. The trip from Contay to Rouen was a Olghtmsrt tn?Onty?t x hours travel? ing um milog on a train which w^is fort rat stopping and darting, its jerky ind uncertain progress meaning to us Just bouts and hours o:' suffering. I do not know y. bother this part of the sys tern for tho removal of wounded has been Improved now. Then, its incou ronlenooi ami Imperfoctioni must hnra bOOO Inevitable, for in every way after? ward the Boost thoughtful and tondef Cgfi WSI shofWO us. In the loug rows of huts which compose the Rrltlsb gen < ml hospital at Douen we found our ? Ires in whs! BOemod like paradise In the hut w hi h constituted the spo dal ward for leg wounds I was lifted i fSSJ the gtfot< bSf on which I had trav ?led all the way from PottSTI into a eogsfSrtSble bod With fresh, clean lb sta and Inatnntty i found myself BUI rounded with quiet, trained, erll lionl cure I forgot the pain of my wounds ind the dread of tho coining ration when a tray of dottotousfood was placed he ide my bed and ti nurse prcpar.d me for the enjoyment of it by bat hue: my fact; and hanJs with scented water. On the following morning my leg w as x rayed and photographed. I told the BWrgOOO 1 thought the business of oporstlng oonM rory wsH be put off until 1 had had about three more bqtsars sjooJa but hi couldnl see it that WSJT? In the nft< rimon I got my ti rs' Blfksnlng dose of ether, and they look the grsl h?t of Iron out of I ItlppuW IhsSS were Just the gOrfSCO deposits, for they only got live or six' plOCOn However, they continued sys? tematically, i hail Bra boom Optra? tlnns, and tVCTy time I CSBtt out of tho ether the pew of bullets and shell OPrspi at the foot of my bid was a little longST, After the uumbcr hud reached Iwentj two they lold BO thai perhaps there were a few more lu there, hut they thought they'd better let tbOfll stay. My wounds had become BtptlC, and if was Decenary to give ail attention t" drainage and cure. It was about this time that everything for awhile seem? ed to become hazy and my memories got all queerly mixed up and confused. I recollect I conceived a violent dis? like for a black dog that appeared from nowhere now and then and be? gan chewing at my leg. and I believe I gave the nurse a severe talking to because she insisted on going to look on at the ball game when she ought to be sitting by to chase that dog away. And i was perfectly certain about her being at the ball game, because I saw her there when 1 was' playing third base. The Alarming Cablegram. It was at this time (on Nov. 28, 1010. ten days after 1 had been wounded) that mj father in Lexington received the following cablegram from the olll cer in charge of the Canadian records In England: Sincerely regret to Inform you that Ser? geant Alexander McClintock is officially reported dangerously ill in No. 5 general hospital from gunshot wound in left thigh. Further particulars supplied when re? ceived. ^ It appears that during the time of my adventures with the black dog and tho inattentive nurse my temperature had ascended to the stage when the doctors began to admit another method of treatment might have been success^ fill. But I didn't pass out. The one thing I most regret about my close call is tbat my parents in Lexington were In unrelieved suspense about my con? dition until I myself sent them a cable from London on Dec. 15. After the first official message, seemingly pro pared almost as a preface to the an nouncemeuj; of my demise, my father received no news of me . -whatever. And. as I didn't know that the official message had gone, I cabled nothing to him until I was feeling fairly chipper again. You can't have wars, though, without these little misunderstandings. If It were possible I should say some? thing hero w hich would be fitting and adequate about tho Englishwomen who nursed the 2,000 wounded men hi general hospital No. 5 at Rouen, but that power isn't given me. AU I can do Is to fall back upon our most pro? found American expression of respect and say that my hat in off to them. One nurse in the ward in w hich I luy laid been on her feet for flfty-six hours, with hardly time even to eat. She finally fainted from exhaustion, was carried out of the ward and was back again in four hours, assisting at an operation. And the doctors were do? ing their bit, too, hi living up to the. obligations which they considered to be theirs. An operating room was in every ward, with fire tables in each. After the tight on tho Soinmo, in which I was wounded, pot a table was va? cant any hour in the twenty-four for days at a time. Outside of each room was a long line of stretchers contain? ing patients next awaiting surgical at? tention. And in all that stress I did not hear one word of complaint from tho surgeons who stood hour after hour, using their skill and training for the petty pay of English army medical officers. On Dec. 6 I was told I was well enough to be sent to England* and on the next day I went on a hospital train from Rouen to Havre. Here I was placed on a hospital ship which every medical officer in our army ought to have a chance to inspect. Nothing in? genuity could contrive for convenience and comfort was missing. Patients were sent below decks in elevators and then placed lu swinging cradles which hung level no matter what the ship's motion might be. As soon ns I had been made comfortable in my particular cradle I was given a box People Stand In Crowds, the Men With Hats Off, While Ambulances Pass. which had engraved upon it: "Present? ed with the compliments of the Union Castle line. May yOU have a speedy and good recovery." The box contain? ed cli a rot u i, tobacco and ? pipe. When the ship docked at Southamp? ton, after a run of eight hours across channel, each patient was asked what pari of the British isles be would like to be taken to for the period of his Convalescence! I requested to be tak? en to|> iidon, w here, I thought, there was the beet chance of my seeing Americans who might know me. Bay, l iure made a good guess'. I didn't know many Americans, but I didn't need to know them. They found me and made themselves acquainted. They brought things, and then they went out to get more they bad forgotten to bring the first trip. The second day, :dtcr I had been install! d on a OOi In the King George hospital, In London. I snd. 1,000 cigarettes hack to the boys of our battalion lu Prance oukof my surplus stock. If I had undertaken to cat and drink and smoke all the things that were brought to me by Americana 1 just because I was an American I'd be back In that hospital now only get- i ting fairly started on the job, It's some country when you need it. Wounded Get Great Welcome. The wounded soldier getting hack to England doesn't have a <-nance to Im? agine that his services ore not appre? ciated. The welcome he receives be? gins at the railroad station. All traf lic Is stopped by the hobbies to give the ambulances a clear way leaving the station. The people stand in crowds, the men with their hats off, while the ambulances pass. Women rush out and throw flowers to the wounded men. Sometimes there is a cheer, but usually only silence and words of sympathy. The King George hospital was built to be a government printing: office and was nearing completion when the war broke cut. It has been made a para? dise for convalescent men. The bare? ness and the sick suggestion and char? acteristic smell, so to speak, of the "I thank you," he said, "for myself and my people for your services." average hospital are unknown tiere. There are soft lights and comfortable beds ??od pretty women going about as visitors. The stage beauties and comedians come to entertain us. The food is delicious, and the chief thought of every one seems to bo to show the inmates what a comfortable and cheery thing it Is to he ill among a lot of real friends. I was there from December until February, and nyy recollections of the stay are so pleasant that some? times 1 wish I was back. On the Friday before Christmas there was a concert in our ward. Among the artists who entertained us were Fay Compton, Cert rude Elliott fsister of Ifazine Elliott), George Bohle and other stars of the London stage. After our protracted stay in the trenches and our long absence from all the civilized forms of amusement the affair seemed to us the most won? derful show ever given. And in some ways it was. For instance, in the most entertaining of dramatic exhibitions did you ever see the lady artists go around and reward enthusiastic ap? plause with kissesV Well, that's what we got. And I am proud to say that it was Miss Compton who conferred this honor upon mo. At about 3 o'clock on that afternoon, when we wore all having a good time, one of the orderlies threw open the door of the ward and announced in a loud voice that his majesty the king was coming in. We could not have been more surprised if some one had thrown in a Mills bomb. Almost im? mediately the king walked in, accom? panied by a number of aids. They were all in service uniforms, the king having little in the style of his uni? form to distinguish him from the oth? ers. He walked around, presenting each patient with a copy of "Queen Mary's (lift Book," an artistic little volume, with pictures and short stories by the most famous of English artists and writers. When he ncared my bed he turned to one of the nurses and in? quired: "Is this the one?" The nurso nodded. He cariie and sat at the side of tho hod and shook hands with mo. He asked as to what part of the Tnitod States I had come from, how I had got my wounds and what the nature of them wore, how I was getting along and what I particularly wished done for me. I answered his questions and said that everything I could possibly wish for had already boon done for me. Thanked by King and Decorated For Bravery. "I thank you," he said, "for myself and my people for your services. Our gratitude cannot be great enough to? ward men who have served as you have." He spoke in a very low voice and with no assumption of royal dignity. There was nothing in the least thrill? ing about tho incident, but there wtis much apparent sincerity in the few words. After he had gone one of the nurses asked me w hat he bad said. "Oh," I said, "George asked me what I thought about the way the war was being conducted, and I said I'd drop in and talk it over with him as soon as I was well enough t" be up." There happened one <>f the great dis? appointments of my life. Sire didn't see the joko. She was English. She gasped ami glared at mo. and I think she went out and reported that I was delirious again. Really, I wasn't much Impressed by the English, king. He seemed a ideas lirir, tired little mnn with a great bur? den to bear and not much of an idea alw?t how to hoar it. He struck me as an Individual who would conscien? tiously do his best in any situation, but would never do or say anything with the slightest suspicion of a punch to it. A few days alter his visit to the hos? pital I saw in the Official London Ga? zette that I had been awarded the dis? tinguished conduct medal. Official let? ters from the Canadian headquarters amplified this information, and a no tice from the British war office inform? ed me that the medal awaited me there. I was told the king knew that the medal had been awarded to me when he spoke to me in the hospital De? spite glowing reports in the Kentucky press he didn't pin it on me. Probubly he didn't have It with him, or perhaps he didn't consider it good form to hang a D. C. If. on a suit of striped presenta? tion pajamas with a prevailing tone of baby blue. While I was in the King George hos? pital I witnessed one of the most won? derful examples of courage and pluck I have ever seen. A young Scot only nineteen years old, McAuley by name, had had the greater part of his face blown away. The surgeons had patch? ed him up in some fashion, but he was horribly disfigured. He was the bright? est, merriest man in the ward, always joklug and never depressed. His own terrible misfortune was merely the top? ic for humorous comment with him. He seemed to get positive amusement out of the fact that the surgeons were always sending for him to do some? thing more with his face. One day he was going into the operating room and a fellow patient asked him what the new operation was to be. "Oh," he said, "I'm going to have a cabbage put on in place of a head. It'll grow better than the one I have now." Once In a fortnight he would man? age to get leave to absent himself from the hospital for an hour or two. He never came back alone. It took a couple of men to bring him in. On the next morning he would say: "Well, it was my birthday. A man must have a few drinks on his birth? day." I was discharged from the hospital in the middle of February and sent to a comfortable place at Hastings, Sus? sex, where I lived until my furlough papers came through. I had a fine time in London at the theaters and clubs pending my departure for home. When my furlough had arrived I went to Buxton, Derbyshire, where the Ca? nadian discharge depot was located and was provided with transportatioE to Montreal. I came back to Amerlcc ou the Canadian Pacific Royal Mail steamer Mctagama, and the trip was without incident of any sort. We lay for a time in the Mersey, awaiting word that our convoy was ready to sec us oat of the danger zone, and a de? stroyer escorted us 400 miles on our way. I was informed before my departure that n commission as lieutenant in the Canadian forces awaited my return from furlough, and I had every inten? tion of going back to accept it, but since I got to America things have hap? pened. Now it's the army of Uncle Sam for mine. I've written these sto? ries to show what we are up against It's going to be a tough game and a bloody one and a sorrowful one for many, but it's up to us to save the issue where it's mostly right on one side and all wrong on the other?and I'm glad we're in. I'm not willing to quit soldiering now, but I will be when we get through with this. Because when we finish up with all this there won't be any necessity for soldiering. The world will be free of war for a long, long time, and a God's mercy that. THE END. The Stats of Westsylvania. The "province and government of Westsylvania" was a proposal made by the settlers in the southwest of Penn? sylvania and the adjacent territory for the creation of a new state. It origi? nated in connection with the troubles between Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the scheme was brought forward early in July, 1770. A description of the proposed government defines the bounds as "beginning at the eastern branch of thfe Ohio opposite the mouth of the Scloto and running thence in a direct line to the Owasioto#pass, thence to the top of the Allegheny mountains, thence with the top of the said moun? tains to tho northern limits of the pur? chase made from the Indians In 1708 at the treaty of Fort Stanwtr, thence with the said limits to the Allegheny or Ohio river and then down the said river as purchased from the said In? dians at the aforesaid treaty of Fort Stanwix at the beginning." A call for a convention to organize the govern? ment was issued, but a memorial of the Virginia committee of West Au? gusta county to the lower house of as? sembly led to the abandonment of the plan.?Philadelphia Press. Londcn'8 Crystal Palace. Crystal palace was originally built In Hyde park for the great exhibition of 1861, being afterward removed to Its present site and re-erected. At the first state opening of the palace by Queen Victoria it was urged that the usual artillery salute should not be fired, the reason given being that the concussion would shiver the glass roof and the company assembled below, in? cluding her majesty, would be cut into mincemeat. Dire were the predictions of the scaremongers when the design for the palace was made public. The first gale, they said, would inevitably wreck it, while the heat engendered by the sun pouring Its rays upon the domed glass roof would be so terrific that no human being could withstand It. Consequently if they escaped an avalanche of glass they would be roast? ed to death inside Iba case. CITADEL MKX IX FRANCE. Lieut. Morality Tells of Seeing Old College Mates at Different Points 011 Battle Front. ,\. w f- and Courier. Lieut. James F. Moriardy, of tho United States marine corps, "some? where in France," has written tho following letter, under daU: of Au? gust 2G to a former fellow cadet at the Citadel: "For the first time in quit* a while I will settle down to answer a few letters which seem to collect very seriousUr. Your letter was an agree? able surprise and I enjoyed reading every line. It sounded like a 'Citadel' letter. "I believe I have met ?he whole crowd over here from the Citadel. Jimmie Holmes, Mood, Barney Legge and Spann are in the amy. 'Floss' Elmore is helping the quartermaster of the Third battalion bf ek at tho landing port about a cour e of hun? dred miles from here. I have seen Hope a couple of times. " arborough is tugging at the harness somewhere (the place I don't know), I think he is still at the base. II .ildrow and myself are the only Citadt i men upon the front; I mean, of course, in tho marines. I haven't seen Mood or Holmes; I have seen Span;, and Legge somewhere around here, Muldrow and myself hang together pretty well. You see both of us havo been pri? vates and drum majors. "1 have a young fellow in my platoon named Dobson who put in three years at Fort Mouitrie in the coast artillery. Last nlgfft he made a remark by chance about the Isle of Palms and Ciadel fcqmre. At first I thought I was half asb ep when he started to talk real ituff,' so I checked him on it. I th? n found out that he had served in For; Mouitrie. "Last night the band | layed down in the village. (I was : nd am sllll m anti-aircraft duty Eb* twenty-four hours). They played the same pieces which I heard so many rimes at Sun? day morning: guard mounting* and on 1 J .lross parade. Even the pieces played xt our 'mess halls.' One in particular made me feel as though I could spend a few more years at the Citadel. It J was the song which y >u and I put t words to in order to sing at the Cit l adel-Clemson game at Orangeburg. I t thjnk it was 'The Return of the Forty-seventh Regiment.' Anyhow, the words run: 1 'Goodbye for you, poor Clemson; At last your race is run i j And we b.ave come here Just to see the fun,' etc. "Remember it? Well, I do. "The Y. M. C. A. has put up a shack here and is starting the good work of supplying the men with writing material and reading motter. "Several interesting things have happened here within the last two weeks. I had a chance to see what a night attack was like. It surely ' is a funny thing to watch. Every? thing black as coal, then, suddenly, up goes a rocket or a little balloon to light up the ground i front. Men crawl around and 8trir/t,: barbed wire or go out to clean up a .rench, or to raid. I have seen several Boche air? planes By at a great altMude overhead and have seen two shot down. "The 'eats' are fine. You know what 'fine' means. We are liviag on the fat of the lamb and incidentally some of the gristle. A chicken came up to the galley and rave itself up. We tried it out on our p: Ues. I haven't seen any hard tack sim e I have ar? rived, except at inspection of the packs when each man must gl ow his emer? gency ration. "By the way, this dace, 'some? where in France,' is m ?re than two thousand years old. Ti e old Roman walls, now a crumbling pile of ruins, can be seen and cove: s have been found, one which was n ade 346 years before Christ. "I am going to try to get permis? sion to send the explanation of the new French drills to M ijor John W. Moore. I think that, he would like to try them out. No more rarade ground stuff. We have formations for pa? rades, reviews, etc., but :hey are very simple. I am glad KaJor Moore is the commandant of cadets. The col? lege needed him for sue . "By the way, let's ix it up now while we have time to 'orrespond to celebrate the Citadel-Ch-mson football game at Orangeburg by all our Claas wherever we are, and also to cele? brate College Night. Muldrow and myself can get in communication with all the Citadel men or I can get in touch with the other members of our CUUM over here and altogether we can celebrate the State championship again." A horse, owned by Logan Ramsey, ran away at the passenr/er station on Sunday night and was : ot found un? til Monday morning when the crew of the Southern morning train found him fastened in the trestle at Qreen Swamp. In trying to cross the tres? tle tho horse got caught between the ties und one leg was broken.